Shorts Block 8: Six Demon Bag

SHORT FILMS / FOREIGN FILMS / PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED / MATURE AUDIENCES

BLOCK CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING FILMS:

_____________________

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE
WAY TO THE THEATRE

SYNOPSIS: After spending most of the day trying to write but getting nowhere, a writer suffering with writer’s block takes a much needed break.

DIRECTOR: Mary C. Russell

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Mary C. Russell is a genre ﬁlm director. She was originally from the Bay Area and now resides in Los Angeles. She’s a graduate from Columbia College Hollywood. She loves screenwriting horror concepts, especially ones that will “mess you up.” Mary has worked in the pre-production and development of scripts from various genres. She regularly works as a script supervisor and in production. Her most recent project “Carved,” a horror-slasher film which she directed, wrote and produced, has played the festival circuit and had been picked up for distribution by Filmchella.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM:

TRAILER: N/A

_____________________

DISTORTION

SYNOPSIS: In a small town, seven lifelong friends hit it off with a guy who arranges for them to party at the abandoned convent where he is night watchman. When Dianne awakens from the euphoric haze of the rave, things aren’t quite right. That’s when everything spins out of control. Do you have what it takes to withstand the mind-bending horror of Dianne’s nightmare?

DIRECTOR: Grégory Papinutto

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: After over ten years directing corporate advertising films, the time had come to embark on some personal projects. First, I directed two documentaries profiling artists whose ultimate craft is to shape and color our emotions and dreams. It was the success of both films on the festival circuit that gave me the confidence to direct Distortion. This project, though ambitious, is simply the fulfillment of a lifelong passion for genre film.

To create the atmosphere of Distortion, I watched hundreds of films and took note of all the particular thrills and jolts that imbue genre film with its unique power to captivate viewers. The decision to use SFX makeup, a singularity photography was a nod to tradition and an homage to the horror genre.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM:

TRAILER:

_____________________

LEVIATHAN

SYNOPSIS: A man delves deep into his late father’s last investigation, uncovering secrets humankind was not meant to know.

DIRECTOR: Erik Woolcott

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Born in Lima, Peru, in 1994. Lived in the city until 2006, when I moved to London, England, where I stayed for three years. In 2009, I returned to Peru to finish high school at Alpamayo School, then I enrolled at the University of Lima to study filmmaking, where I am finishing my degree.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM:

TRAILER: N/A

_____________________

MAW

SYNOPSIS: Richard has an unusual fantasy: he is sexually aroused by the idea of being eaten by an animal or monster. Through a contact ad he meets the mysterious Max and with that encounter the chance to fulfill his depraved fantasy. Can Richard escape his dark desires or not?

DIRECTOR: Jasper Vrancken

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Jasper Vrancken (°1979) graduated at the RITCS as a Master in Audio-visual Arts (director) and started working as a freelance editor, director and production manager. A little later he also started teaching audio- and video techniques. In 2016 he started a PhD, “MAW” is a part of that.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM:

TRAILER: N/A

_____________________

OVUM (USA)

SYNOPSIS: In the near future, a woman must make a hard choice after a mind bending medical procedure.

DIRECTOR: Cidney Hue

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Cidney Hue is a sci-fi director and filmmaker in NYC with a focus on women, environmental issues, and science-driven projects. Her three-time award-winning short, Odessa, recounts the journey of an astronaut’s last night on Earth. It was distributed by Gaiam TV & Indieflix and premiered on io9. Her webseries for Wired & Reddit, Cyborg Nation, profiles scientists at the forefront of prosthetics, robotics, and brain-computer interfaces. The series has garnered over half a million views and was nominated for a Webby in 2016. Her environmental documentary, Shark Loves the Amazon, toured nationally and premiered at the World Sustainability Forum to leaders and policy makers. Throughout her commercial career, she has directed and designed content for United Airlines, NASA JPL, Condé Nast, IMG, Scholastic, Imagine Science, Brennan Center for Justice, Specialty Food, Open Road Media, and more.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM:

TRAILER:

_____________________

SIGHT

SYNOPSIS: Naji, a nonbeliever from a parallel earth, must make the ultimate sacrifice to save her tribe when supernatural forces bring a dark truth to light.

DIRECTOR: Janeen Talbott

AWARDS WINS / NOMINATIONS: TBD

DIRECTOR’S / FILMMAKER’S BIO: Janeen Talbott is an ambivert, artist, naturalista and a returned Peace Corps volunteer. In Ethiopia, the Florida A&M alumna served for two years, mentoring, teaching and evolving. While abroad she was able to peer at the world and deeper into herself from a different vantage-point. It is from that perspective that she intends to develop and tell stories.

IMAGES FROM THE FILM: